Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:
17And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in [among] them and became a joint partner of the root of the fatness of the olive tree, 18do not boast over the branches, but if you boast, [you must realize that] you do not support the root, but the root [supports] you. 19Therefore, you will say, “Branches were broken off in order that I could be grafted in.” 20Granted. They were broken off in unbelief, but you stand in faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear. 21For, if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. 22Therefore, behold the kindness and severity of God – on the one hand, severity on ones falling, on the other hand, the kindness of God upon you, if you continue in the kindness, otherwise you also will be cut off. 23And they also will be grafted in, if they are not remaining in unbelief, for God is able to graft them in again. 24For, if you were cut out of a naturally wild olive tree and grafted into a cultivated olive tree against nature, how much more will these according to nature be grafted into their own olive tree?
Hmmmm.
This passage of Romans 9-11 has been one of the most difficult studies I think I’ve ever engaged in. I am glad I’m studying it, as it is Scripture and I’m sure, in some way, it is feeding my soul. However, I’m constantly barraged with this sense that it is simply more than I can comprehend. Perhaps I’ll understand more, if I live long enough to ever come back and study it again. However, I kind of doubt it. Once again, my sense is that this is simply delving too deeply into the eternal counsels of God.
So…having studied through it the
best I could, I’ll try to record a few observations, then move on in the awe of
God’s incomprehensible and infinite wisdom.
Clearly, Paul wants us to understand this strange new relationship between the Jews and us Gentiles. He compares us to wild olive branches and the Jews to the branches of a cultivated olive tree. Both are fed by “the root.” There is a lot of discussion of what exactly is “the root” which supports both. My two cents would be to say it is the Abrahamic Covenant, wherein the Lord promised to Abraham that his descendants would be “His people,” but also that the whole world would be blessed through him (Gen. 12:2,3).
As Paul says in Ephesians 2:11-22, we Gentiles were once “strangers to the covenants of promise,” “...but now, in Christ Jesus, you who were once afar off have been made near by the blood of Christ.” In that passage, he goes on to say, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and member’s of God’s household.”
So, specifically, the way in which Abraham blessed “the whole world” was through his descendant Jesus, who, by His Cross, threw open the doors of salvation to us Gentiles. What is of particular interest to me in this passage is to be reminded how we plugged into this blessing. There in Ephesians 2, we are told “By grace you have been saved through faith…” (v.8). Here in Romans 11, Paul urges us to realize the difference between our “acceptance” and the Jews’ “rejection” is this simple matter of belief or unbelief.
Though the Jews are all Abraham’s descendants and form nationally “the people of God,” yet for any one of them to actually enter into the blessing required their own personal faith, their own personal belief in God and His promises. Over the centuries, they developed the arrogant conception that they were naturally the objects of God’s favor, just because they were Jews.
Over those centuries, the Lord warned them again and again that their sins would be judged until finally they murdered their own Messiah and He “rejected them” as His people and turned to us Gentiles. However, notice here in Romans 11, the issue is not whether we sin or not. The issue is belief and unbelief.
I don’t know that I’ve ever thought through this before, but I believe this passage would remind us that, in a sense, it isn’t our sins that get us in trouble with God. Those sins are actually arising from another far more poisonous “root” which is unbelief. Of course sins are bad, but their consideration can devolve into a very cold, impersonal approach to God. We can say, “Here are the Ten Commandments. How am I doing? I’ve either obeyed them or not.” Check, check, check. What’s missing? God. On the other hand, what if we probe our hearts and ask ourselves, “Am I believing God or not?” Does that not immediately draw us into our relationship with Him?
This question of belief or unbelief calls us to seriously consider the question, “Do I trust God or not?” Why do I sin? Is it not, at its deepest root, an expression of unbelief? Is it not a personal affront to God, specifically because what moves us to sin is in some way doubting Him? That question is not something cold or impersonal. It is very personal.
That helps me. Here, even in this passage, we could reduce this matter of belief or unbelief to the simple question of whether I’ve been saved or not – whether I have actually experienced saving faith or not. However, is it not far better to see this as a matter of my entire life? I am very thankful that the Lord saved me and gave me the understanding and the grace to trust Jesus for my eternal salvation. That is a wonderful thing. However, that should only be a beginning. In a sense, the rest of my life here on earth is a journey of truly learning to trust God – all day, every day, in every situation. That very personal relationship of trust is the thing that matters. That, according to our passage is what makes the difference.
That is all a very personal matter for you and me to consider. In the larger scheme of things, Paul wants us Gentiles to realize we are just as susceptible as the Jews of falling into unbelief. What did Jesus tell the churches in Revelation? “Repent, or I will come and take away your candlestick.” Where today is the church of Ephesus? Colossae? Antioch? Gone. All we have to do is look around us here in America and everywhere we see empty church buildings – churches that “once were.”
That is bad, but I would suggest
there are even more that might still be meeting week after week, yet there is
no Gospel light shining from them. Long ago, the Holy Spirit rose from their thresholds
and the glory of the Lord departed from them. They may call themselves a
church, call themselves Christians, even think they are ”champions” of the
Bible, but they have no influence for Jesus in this world. Years ago, He did
exactly what He warned and “took away their candlestick.”
Once again, let’s consider the “Why?” Why do some no longer even exist? How is it that some are “churches,” but have no Gospel light whatsoever in this world? The issue is again, this very personal matter of belief or unbelief.
For myself, I can’t answer for any entire church or even any entire nation that used to be a Gospel light. However, I can commit my heart once again to trusting the Lord today. I don’t want to be guilty of unbelief. I don’t want to sin because in reality I just wasn’t trusting Him. For me, that is the best thing I draw from this passage.
Other than that, there is much here I am quite sure I do not understand. However, I like being reminded of the truth expressed in Psalm 91:1: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
“It is good for me to draw near to God.”
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